Recipes

Do you have any good, quick, simple, healthy or scrumptious recipes? I am always looking to try new things, so please let me know. Here are a few recipes that are either easy or way yummy. No, they aren't all healthy, nor are they related in any way.

Sauteed Green Beans

whole frozen green beans

minced garlic

fresh basil (please, if you live near me, come get some from my garden. We have tons!)

slivered almonds

salt and pepper

olive oil

Basically,  heat a little olive oil in a pan and saute garlic. Add green beans and chopped basil. Saute a few minutes. Add almonds. Cook a few more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (This is also good with chopped grape tomatoes sauteed, and feta added at the end). 

Roasted Veggie Lasagna

1 onion

2 lbs. or more sliced fresh mushrooms

1-2 green, red, or yellow bell peppers, chopped

2-3 zucchini, sliced

*any other veggie that's good roasted. Be creative. Can add fresh baby spinach, too.

*it wouldn't be too many veggies if you doubled the above. I always feel like there should be more...

12 lasagna noodles

pasta sauce (from the store or from scratch. If from scratch, use pureed tomatoes. They're already thick and it's a great base for sauce)

mozzarella cheese

parmesan cheese (shredded is yum)

Preheat oven to 450. Spread chopped veggies on a couple of cookie sheets. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Toss veggies if you like. Roast in oven for about 25 minutes, stirring once. 

While veggies are roasting, boil lasagna noodles accd. to package. 

Put a little sauce in a 9X13. Lay three noodles down. Add 1/3 of the sauce, 1/3 of the veggies, sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan. Lay three more noodles. Keep layering until there's no more. Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes. 

*You could cover it and refrigerate a few days or freeze a few months. Also, if you really like ricotta, you could mix ricotta (or cottage cheese) with a beaten egg and add it to the mix, too.

Pumpkin Gingersnap Ice Cream Squares

2 c. pumpkin

1 c. sugar

1 t. salt

1 t. ginger

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

36 gingersnaps

1 c. chopped pecans

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened

Combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, spices. Add chopped pecans. In a chilled bowl, fold pumpkin mixture into softened ice cream. Line the bottom of a 13X9 pan with gingersnaps. Top with half of the ice cream mixture. Layer the rest of the gingersnaps and then the ice cream mixture. Freeze until firm. Let soften a few minutes before serving. Cut into squares, garnish with whipped cream and pecan halves or gingersnaps.

Spicy Sweet Potato Spears

3 c. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into skinny spears (Costco sells them already cut up--it's worth it!)

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

1 t. chili powder

1 t. salt

2 T. olive oil

1 T. lime juice

1 clove minced garlic

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

1 T. spicy brown mustard

1/4 t. ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400. In large bowl, stir all ingredients then add potatoes. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, turn over (or stir if it's not quite a single layer) and bake 10 more minutes, until crispy and browned. Taste and add more salt, if desired.

*When I was nursing, I omitted the red pepper flakes and cayenne and it was still delish.